Soup Recipes

Soups

A hot bowl of chowder is a comforting sight, especially on a frigid winter's day. Whether you prefer creamy New England-style or Manhattan chowder, this collection of recipes has a bit of everything to please everyone's taste. Choose from American classics and international recipes for Spanish, Mexican, and French seafood soups and stews, including the famous Provencal dish of bouillabaisse.

Impress your family with this famous San Franciscan seafood stew. Invented by Italian-American fishermen, this recipe for cioppino features an assortment of seafood cooked in a tomato broth. The recipe calls for clams, firm white fish, shrimp, and crab legs, but feel free to use your favorite seafood combination.

Typically classic French bouillabaisse uses fish native to the Mediterranean, but many fish in American markets are suitable. Choose firm white-fleshed fish, such as halibut, red snapper, or monkfish. The addition of shellfish is not traditional but is very delicious.

If you're looking for rich and creamy, this is the soup for you. This New England chowder is rich in bacon flavor. The vegetables are sauteed in the rendered fat and the bacon pieces make a nice garnish.

Make this chowder when corn is in season. The kernels and the pulp, scraped from the cob, add lots of sweet flavor. Once the potatoes are cooked, add the shrimp to the soup and simmer until just done. Be careful not to overcook.

Shaped trofie pasta makes a nice addition to this new take on bouillabaisse. Add to the stew just before serving. With only one type of fish -- black bass -- the stew is easier to make than the classic recipe, but is just as flavorful.

Even though this fish chowder is made with cod, use store-bought clam juice rather than water to add more seafood flavor. A homemade fish stock would also work well. Serve this New England-style fish chowder with oyster crackers.

This Mexican-style seafood soup recipe is from chef Rick Bayless. He uses dried guajillo chiles, blended into the soup, to add deep earthy flavor. Make the soup with mussels and white fish such as halibut, mahi-mahi, or catfish.

Sweet and succulent chunks of Maine lobster and tender corn make the perfect pairing in this chowder, which also has summer squash and basil. Boil the lobsters in advance and add the meat to the soup before serving.

Use the catch of the day or the freshest fish at the market to make this classic chowder. We like cod, haddock, or pollack. The flavor base includes salty fatback for rich pork flavor and homemade fish stock for intense seafood flavor. Bacon and/or store-bought fish stock can be substituted.

The base of this crowd-pleasing Cioppino includes fennel, which lends subtle anise flavor to the seafood stew. Serve the finished dish with orange-parsley pesto, which everyone can help themselves to, and grilled sourdough bread for dipping in the broth.

Instead of flour or cream, this soup is thickened with egg yolks that have been tempered with broth. Make sure to keep the soup at a low simmer when adding the egg mixture and the cod pieces. Serve the soup with toasted bread spread with lemon aioli.

Coconut milk adds rich and exotic flavor to this fish chowder, made with red snapper fillets. Simmer the fish whole and break them apart once cooked. Frozen corn adds sweetness and creaminess, since a portion of the vegetables are pureed.

This recipe for curried shrimp is sweet, hot, and savory. Orange juice along with tomato juice is added to the stew. Orange zest is used to season the shrimp before sauteing. Stir in cream or yogurt at the end and serve with basmati rice.

This stew is made entirely in the microwave. Cod is great for this recipe, but you can substitute grouper or red snapper. For a hotter version, stir in a small amount of chopped chipotle in adobo sauce, or a pinch or two of red-pepper flakes.

A panoply of fresh fish and shellfish give this stew its wow-inducing flavor. Chef Todd English starts by creating a flavorful broth, which includes roasted fish bones. The fish is marinated and sauteed separately. The shellfish is steamed in the broth. Serve the bouillabaisse with the traditional accompaniment of bread spread with rouille, a thick garlic-flavored sauce.

This Spanish-style seafood stew recipe comes from chef Jose Andres. It includes black bass and manilla clams, and smoked paprika and saffron give the dish a unique flavor. Picada sauce is stirred in before serving and allioli (like aioli but without the egg) is served alongside.

Originally prepared by fishermen along Italy's Amalfi coast, all'acqua pazza is a slightly spicy sauce of tomatoes, caper berries, and basil. It's traditionally served with local fish, but also works well with calamari. Before cooking, tenderize the squid with a mallet. Cook for just 1 to 2 minutes.